EU and Council of Europe reaffirm their opposition to capital punishment on European and World Day against the Death Penalty

 The European Union and the Council of Europe strongly reaffirm their unequivocal opposition to the death penalty “in all cases and in all circumstances”, including any reintroduction of it, on the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, celebrated on 10 October.

“The death penalty is an inhuman and degrading punishment, representing the ultimate denial of human dignity. It fails to act as a deterrent to crime and capital punishment makes miscarriages of justice irreversible”, says a joint statement by the EU and Council of Europe.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Protocol No. 13’s entry into force at the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. So far, 44 Member States of the Council of Europe have ratified it. The EU has welcomed the ratification of Protocol No. 13 by the National Assembly of Armenia, Azerbaijan’s acceptance of this Protocol, and has encouraged both member states to swiftly complete the ratification process.

Belarus remains the only country that still uses the death penalty in Europe. “The EU and the Council of Europe deplore Belarus’ second extension of capital punishment in less than a year, this time to civil servants and military personnel for the crime of high treason,” says the statement.

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